The Love of a Lion
by V.R.L.S
Summary: Set along HalfBlood Prince, this story cronicles the school year through the eyes of two students, Luna Lovegood and Ronald Weasley. Follow along as they deal with lovetheir's and others.
1. Chapter 1: Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes

The Love of a Lion

Chapter 1

Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes

A storm of urgency swarmed around Diagon Alley. The school term started the day after tomorrow, and everyone was trying to get their last minute shopping in. An air of gloom was also surrounding the area, as the return of Voldemort left everyone dumbfounded. Of course the Ministry's reaction was to slander Harry and Dumbledore in the paper, not helping anything. Only two people seemed to be unperturbed by this rush and gloom. One of them was Fred Weasley. Fred poked around the Alley, looking for nothing in particular. He was a tall gangly young man, fresh out of Hogwarts. He had messy red hair and a mass of freckles splattered around his face. He looked to be in his late teens. Spotting a shop Fred sighed. His complete circle had brought him back home. Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, the store he and his twin brother owned. As he walked inside, his twin caught his eye.

"See any good competition?" George, practically the exact clone of Fred stuck his head out of the storage room. Fred grinned, waving at his twin. Their job had gone swimmingly.

"Not really." Fred removed his sweater, a big purple one with a giant G on it. The good old Weasley sweater, or at least his brothers. The sweater-swap was guaranteed to make people confused. _"G_od _it was cold. Very odd for summer." _he thought nonchalantly. "Could you pick up the post? That's the one thing I forgot."

"You always make me do the hard stuff." George joked. Putting on his sweater, emblazoned with a giant F, he walked outside, them disappeared around the corner.

Fred smiled. Tilting his chair back, he looked around out the windows. "_A whole rush of people, all serious and hurried. Why didn't they just relax? Why didn't they just lean back and smell the love potions? On second thought, smelling the love potions would be a bad idea." _He yawned, then started to whistle aimlessly. "_They're all hurried because of You-Know-Who. Everybody's thinking he'll jump out from behind a street sign and hex the first person he sees. Voldemort is a touchy subject, but..."_ A young girl caught his eye. She was blonde, and aimlessly wandering toward Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. Her pale eyes were constantly scanning the area, maybe hopes of someone she knew. She looked oddly out of place, like she had just stepped out of some weird fairytale. Maybe it was because she was wearing a butterbeer bottle cap necklace, with a matching bracelet. A copy of _The Quibbler _peeked out of her tote. She sauntered into Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes smiling happily. She was the other person unperturbed by the hustle and bustle, Luna Lovegood.

"'Ello." Fred said grinning. _A customer! Finally!_ "My name's-"

"I know who you are," Luna interrupted, in a dreamy voice. "You're either Fred or George Weasley, George I think, by the G on your sweater." She looked around the shop. "By the way, is it true that you dive-bombed Umbridge, pelted her with Dungbombs, and then blew a hole in the roof, flying away?"

Fred was taken aback. "Erm, we just summoned our brooms and flew away. And by the way, I'm Fred." Fred leaned back a bit, eying the girl carefully. "And, I don't know who you are."

"Luna Lovegood. In case you're wondering, I was in my dormitory at the time. The Portable Swamp or whatever it was smelled awful."

"It's supposed to." Fred grinned, then squinted a bit. "I know you. You were in the D.A. meetings. And you were in the fight in the Ministry."

"Yes, that's me." She picked up a telescope, narrowly dodging it as it tried to punch her in the eye. Fred laughed with mirth. "You may think it's funny. But has this telescope been checked for Gineyevitus?"

"Gineye what?" Fred had been caught completely off guard. Okay, this girl was seriously damaged in the brain area or something. "There's no such thing as Gineyevitus! It was pronounced fake years ago!" The only reason Fred knew this was it was on his final exam for Binns.

"Oh, but the Ministry of Magic just lied to cover it up. It's still around, and you almost infected me!" Luna snorted haughtily. "Very nice." Suddenly, she returned to her normal dreamy demeanor.

"Okay...do you want to buy anything?" Fred grinned as he showed Luna around. "We have Portable Swamps, Fainting Fancies, a wide array of love potions-" Luna's eyes lit up. "Shield hats, cloaks, and-"

"I'd like to see a shield hat." Luna said, carefully inspecting a love potion. Fred rummaged in the back for a bit, then pulled out a shield hat. It was a small ugly thing, the color of vomit. With a flick of her wand, she turned the hat pink and fuzzy. It now was about the size of a top hat. Little puffballs and beads dangled from the front. "Try selling this."

"Pretty good. What charm did you use?" Fred looked at the hat admiringly.

"Just a small Transfiguration charm."

"Pretty good! Now change it back." Copyright reasons.

"I think it looks better than those dead Blibblerschnotzes."

"I don't care what you think! You practically ruined the hat! You-"

"Hey." A new voice. Both Luna's and Fred's head turned.

"What?" they both yelled.

"I'd like to buy this." An obnoxious surly voice popped up. Zacharias Smith. He leaned against the window, scowling.

"Not you!" Fred sighed, putting a hand up to his face._ "First Luna, then Zacharias!"_ he thought, annoyed. _"It seemed like someone was trying to kill him, by sending all the people he disliked, or in Luna's case, couldn't understand to his shop! Where the heck was George anyway? Oh yeah, at the post. Well, what about that intern girl we hired? At her aunties. Damn."_ Fred swore again, under his breath as he turned to Zacharias. "Whaddya want?"

"This hat." He held up the pink fuzzy hat, Luna transfigured a few minutes before. "It's the only one that doesn't look like a deflated balloon." He was right. Oddly, all the hats looked like someone Dudley Dursley's size had sat on it. "How much?"

"Seventeen Sickles," Fred said, clenching his fist. _"How come only **her** hat sold? The other ones are okay! We're just...still modifying them."_ "Hey Smith, why're you buying a Shield Hat? Don't tell me you forgot the D.A. spells already? Are you that dense?"

"It's for a friend." Zacharias said, in forced restraint.

"A lady friend?" Luna said, in mild interest.

"O-of course not! Mind your own business Looney!" And with that, he sped off from the shop.

"Call me Luna," Luna sighed, then returned to browsing. Gesturing to an orang Pygmy Puff, she said "I think I want that one."

"Okay." Fred unlocked the cage, giving the Puff to Luna. "Ten Sickles and 13 Knuts." The transaction of money and Pygmy Puff occurred, and Luna looked throughly happy.

"I'll name you Ronald," Luna said to no one in particular as she left the shop.


	2. Chapter 2: Train Ride

The Love of a Lion

Chapter 2

Train Ride

Luna sighed, making her way through the crowd of people in King's Cross Station. Her blonde hair was tied up in a loose bun. She wore tight jeans, around the rear area, and a loose red shirt, emblazoned with the words "Werewolves are People too!" She pulled a trolley, a trunk and an odd shoe box perched on it. A dog-eared copy of The Quibbler poked out of the trunk. Her wand was stuck behind her ear, and she had a can of grape soda in her hand. '_Platform_ _6, Platform 7..." _she thought pulling the trolley. She really couldn't wait for school to start. _'Platform 8...'_ She'd see Hermione, Elizabeth...and especially him. _'Ah, there it is. Platform 9.' _Luna pulled back the trolley, squinted, took a sip of soda, then ran into the barrier, passing through it to the wizarding world. A whole flurry of people she knew came into view. There was Cho Chang, Terry Boot, Padma Patil, and Ron Weasley? As she tried to wave to him, another person blocked her view.

"Hullo Luna!" It was her friend, Elizabeth Britten, a fellow Ravenclaw her year. Her brown hair was pulled up into a ponytail. She wore khaki capris, exposing just the right amount of leg, and a semi-tight orange shirt, emblazoned with the Chudley Cannons logo. Her body showed very pronounced signs of womanhood. Her body, hair and vibrant brown eyes made her very attractive. "How was your summer?"

"Okay," Luna said, forgetting entirely about Ron. She'd see him at school anyway. "Yours?"

"Wicked," Elizabeth said grinning. "Mum and I went to France to visit my aunt." She launched into a lengthy discussion about the Eiffel Tower, ("Eiffel somebody built it!) The Arc de Triomphe, ("It was built to celebrate a French Military victory) and Beauxbatons (They start two weeks earlier than us! Their castle's only three stories high though)

Luna only listened half-heartedly though, as she slowly made her way to the train. The train whistle sounded, signaling fifteen minutes until departure. "Let's go get a seat." They dragged their trunks inside, pushing and pulling.

"I'd like to sit in the back," Luna said, pulling the trunk.

"Suit yourself." Elizabeth said, eying the Slytherin compartment sneakily. Suddenly, the train lurched forward. Luna tripped, fell to the ground, and spilled her soda all over somebody's shoes.

"Sorry," she muttered, standing up.

"Ergh! I've got soda on my shoes! Nice going Looney!" It was Draco Malfoy, blonde-haired Slytherin Seeker. "Brilliant." he said sarcastically, scowling at Luna.

"Drakkie-poo? Why didn't you owl me over the summer?"Elizabeth whined, making a sad puppy dog face.

"Oh Lizzy-wizzy, I was busy." _'Oh yeah. They were dating." _Luna shuddered as they started to kiss. "_Hope that if I'm in love, I'm never like that."_ she thought, making her way down the corridor. _"Love's a weird thing" _The train gave another lurch, making Luna spill the rest of her soda over some poor Gryffindor girl's shoes, and then the Hogwarts Express left, making it's way to the school.

--

Ron walked around the train, shiny prefect badge pinned to his chest. Time to 'patrol the corridors.' He wandered around, occasionally pulling apart fighting first years.

"I don't care if he called Tina 'fat lard', let go of him!" Ron said, wrenching apart the third set of fighting first years. One boy sported a nasty cut above the left eyebrow, and one boy's glasses had been cracked in half. Fumbling for his wand, he muttered "Reparo." Instantly, the glasses fixed themselves. "Nothing I can do about that cut. You'd be best seeing Madam Pomfrey." He started to walk off, then turned around. "Don't let me catch you doing this again," Ron said exasperated. The Gryffindor prefect walked away massaging his head. '_Were all the first years **this **surly? When they were little runts like those, did they fight that much?" _

"Hullo Ronald!" Ron turned around to see Kisa Lewis, a Gryffindor his year. Her long blondish-brown hair reached to her waist. She was a bit short, but well-developed. She had already changed into her robes, Gryffindor lion emblazoned on the front. "How're you doing?"

"Eh, so-so," Ron said smiling a bit. "You?"

"Somebody spilled soda on my feet." Kisa said frowning. "How was your summer?"

"My brother is getting married soon, I think at the end of this year."

"Which one? And to whom?"

"My oldest brother, Bill. He's the banker. He's marrying Fleur Delacour, that Beauxbatons girl."

"She was in the Triwizard Tournament, right?"

"Yeah."

"GOD I hated her." Kisa giggled, a girly giggle.

"Yeah, I hate her too. Ginny, my little sister, calls her Phlegm." Ron laughed too.

"Funny. But honestly, who'd wanna marry someone related to you?"

Ron scowled. "Wingardium Leviosa." With a swish and a flick, Ron levitated the book Kisa was reading.

"Hmmph. Tarentallegra." She fired the jinx at Ron, sending his legs into a frenzied quick-step. She laughed, then grabbed her book.

"Good." Ron fired a Tickling Charm in her direction. It hit, and Kisa fell off the seat laughing.

"Good one Weasley," she said through fits of laughter, so it ended up as, 'Good-ha ha ha, ha-one-hee hee heh-Weasley-BWAHAHAHA!" Still laughing, Kisa pulled herself back on the seat. Ron waved by then headed towards the back. He took one last look at the front cars, and saw Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson snogging like mad. '_Gross. I'll never do that in public! It's just so disturbing.'_ He shrugged it off, then ran to the back, searching for Harry.


	3. Chapter 3: Insomnia

The Love of a Lion

Chapter 3

Insomniac

The start-of-term feast was wonderful. Luna enjoyed every nibble, swallow, and gulp of it. She read The Quibbbler while eating, scanning over its contents. An article caught her eye. 'How to tell if he's the one.' How odd. Mushy love crap usually never appeared in it, except when it was reporting that some famous celebrity kept on drugging his wife up with love potion so that the marriage will last. '_Maybe I'll do it for...him"_

"What's this?" A light voice swam into Luna's ear. Black hair swept into her ears. It was Cho Chang. Her eyes looked rather red. Luna was shocked. When did she get here? And had she been crying _again?_

"Just an article." Luna said, returning to her misty demeanor. "I think I'll skip it."

"Oh, let me see it." Cho snatched the magazine from Luna.

"But-" Luna started to protest, but to no avail. Cho had already started to fill out the quiz. _"Honestly, that Chang girl is such a freak. Always obsessing over Harry. So pathetic." _She put her head on her hands as she waited for Cho to finish up.

"Poo." Cho sighed, giving The Quibbler back to Luna. _"Finally" _Luna thought, rolling her eyes. "I guess we're not compatible." With that, she turned to Marietta Edgecombe and the two started to blabber about some Quidditch guy. Luna just sighed and continued to read.

_--_

Ron sighed as he started down the stairsto the Gryffindor common room. His Gryffindor striped pajamas were wrinkled, and about two inches too small. He was bloated from the feast, and couldn't sleep. Thoughts ran through his head, slowly lowering down his defenses. _"What will this year be like? Slughorn as Potions, and Snape as Defense Against the Dark Arts? What the hell would Luna be like this year?" _He stopped himself, raising the mental barrier. "_Duh. She'd still be the same. What was I thinking?"_ He looked around the common room, smiling. He wasn't the only one up. Louise Bacchus, a fifth year, was sitting in the common room, crouched over something emitting a faint glow. Her blonde hair, cut in a boyish style with long bangs was draped over her green eyes. Her chest gave off a bare hint of womanhood. She wore a pajama set, like Ron's except it was purple with green polka dots.

"Hullo." Ron said, interrupting her...whatever she was doing. "Can't sleep?"

"Nope." Louise grinned. "I had to find out how this game ended." She was always doing something odd and unpredictable. She waved the glowing thing in Ron's face. "Game Boy. And, by the way, I'm playing Pokemon: Red."

"Pardon?" Ron said, looking at her quizzically. _"Poke-ee-moon? What the heck was that?"_

"A Muggle invention and a Muggle game." Louise grinned again. "They do know more than we credit them for. 'Course it's a lot better running off of magic. Never loses power." She grinned, but then her face fell and she swore, very loudly. "Dammit! I lost!" She set off a string of swear words, Ron looking on in shock. She just smiled it off. "Wanna go for a round?"

"Sure!" Away they played, blasting their troubles away.

--

Another person was up late, besides the two Gryffindors. Luna and Elizabeth sat in their bedroom, each doing a different thing. Luna was completely engrossed in a Quibbler crossword, and Elizabeth was painting her toenails alternating blue and silver.

"You think he'll notice?" Elizabeth said giggling. She delicately painted a pinkie toenail a pale, yet metallic shade of silver.

"_Do you think he'll notice mine? She painted my nails also. Would he see them?" _Luna shook off that feeling, returning to her puzzle"I honestly don't know who you're talking about." she said, writing in a word. "Four letter word for 'Bulgarian Seeker'?" Luna scratched her nose with a metallic blue fingernail, courtesy of Elizabeth.

"Krum." Elizabeth said smiling. "He's that dreamy guy that was in the Triwizard Tournament. Course, Drakkie-poo's the guy for me."

"Hmm." Luna wrote the word in. "Okay, so #5 Across must be 'Malfoy'and #7 Down must be 'kranufferpic'."

"What?" Elizabeth accidentally upset a bottleof blue nail polish. It splattered over her silver sheets, and a bit on the blue curtains. "Oh damn. What did you say?"

"Kranufferpic?"

"No Malfoy. What's that put down for?" She looked concerned.

"Wealthy wizarding family having a history of being Death Eaters."

"Why would they put that? It's not true!"

"Here it says that they pass down the Dark Mark from father to son. I'd be careful around 'Drakkie-poo'"

"B.S." Elizabeth said, snarling. "Drakkie-poo wouldn't do that!"

"Oh well, I still think so." Luna looked at the nail polish soaked sheets. "How will you sleep?"

"I'll just use Affy's bed."Elizabeth smiled, then slipped into Affy's bed. "Poor girl. She had an allergic reaction to the pudding, so she's staying in the hospital wing tonight."

"Oh." Luna sighed. "She should have immediately taken a Charbulb Tablet."

"Pardon?"

"It stops allergic reactions, but turns your face green."

"I'd rather take the allergies." With that, the two girls fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4: Running Away

The Love of a Lion

Chapter 4

Running Away

Day after day, week after week, month after month all passed as a blur for Luna. Class after class passed monotonously. One class stood out for Luna though, like a gunshot.

--

That fatal class was Herbology, on a Tuesday morning. The radishes for her earrings swayed in the wind. She seemed to be the only one working, everyone else it seems was gossiping. _"Honestly, The Quibbler confirms about half of these accusations." _She played 'answer the question silently in her mind' for about half an hour, until she got to a rather difficult one. She stopped trying to feed her Venemous Tentecular, and listened instead.

"Are you sure it's true?" Cade Narcissus paid no attention to her Tentecular, which was trying to eat her robes. Instead she was leaning over the table, out of Professor Sprout's watchful eye, gossiping to Loretta Atalanta, a jock in her own way.

"Of course! I saw them snogging in the corridor. Snogging, snogging, snogging, snogging, snogging!" Loretta looked at Cade, disgusted.

"_Apparently, this couple did a lot of snogging." _Luna returned to her Tentecular, pinching the flower shut. With the other hand, she quickly grabbed the seeds. She couldn't stop overhearing the gossip though. It was like watching a train wreck. You just had to watch/listen.

"Ooh! Won't Granger be tickled pink! Can't wait to see her face Lori!" Cade twisted a lock of her reddish blonde curly hair.

Granger? Was it Hermione? She didn't know any others...Luna slapped her Tentecular as it tried to eat her robes.

"It'll never last."

"You sure it's true Lori?" Cade leaned forward, Ravenclaw crest on her robes practically in Lori's face.

"_I shouldn't be listening!" _Luna thought nervously.

"Of course it's true! Ron Weasley is going out with Lavender Brown!"

"No..." Luna's face fell, her heart sank. _"It must me true. It had to be. Why would Loretta go spreading false gossip? No, it had to be true." _Nevertheless, a small flicker of hope burned in her chest. A flicker that burned all through out her classes, almost smothered by the sadness and depression of the horrible truth.

She went to dinner, eyes red from all the crying she had done. As she nonchalantly finished her dinner, next to Malfoy snogging Elizabeth, she caught a glance of the Gryffindor table. There he was. Snogging her. Hermione looked on in disgust, while Harry absent-mindedly picked at his potato.

"Of course." Luna sniffed, wiping away tears. "I knew it was true."She stood up, leaving the half-eaten remains of her dinner at her plate, and ran. She ran away from the Great Hall. Where she was running to, she had no clue. She just wanted to run. She ran past classrooms, bewildered teachers, and confused students. As she ran, she thought. She thought about...him. _"Why? Why did he choose her? She's not all that good-looking. What does she have that I don't? Why- oh lord, what am I saying? Ronald Weasley is just a friend. He's just a friend. Why'd he choose-_ JUST A FRIEND!"

"Fine then." said a rather quiet voice. Unknown to Luna, she had said that last part out loud. Luna snapped out of her running and thinking, and saw she was in a bathroom. The only other person in there...wasn't a person. It was the ghost of a teenage girl.

"Myrtle." Luna said, almost laughing. _"That's good. This is only the second floor girls bathroom. Very good."_

"Come to make fun of moping Moaning Myrtle?" The ghost said, looking at Luna.

"No, I'd never do that. It's just...I think I'm sick."

"Ooh, tell me." Myrtle said, flying down to Luna. She carefully inspected her, looking her over, and passing through her a few times. "You don't look sick." Myrtle said, frowning. "But if you die, you'll have to find another toilet-"

"Have you ever been mad at a guy for going out with another girl?" Luna said, rather fast.

"Of course! That dratted Tom Riddle-"

"Could you help me? My heart always beats faster when he's around. I'm always trying to talk to him, and when he found out he has a girlfriend I just felt dead!" Myrtle sniffed, blinking back tears. "No offense." Luna said quickly.

"None taken."

"Anyway, I just felt dead! Like I had no right to live! I CAN'T TAKE IT!" Luna was panting, furiously. _'Had I just said all that?" _She slumped against a wall of a bathroom stall, trying in vain to catch her breath.

Suddenly, with a crack Peeves appeared. _"Oh damn it all."_ Luna thought. _"Not that bloody poltergeist."_

"Looney's got a boyfriend! Looney's got a boyfriend!" Peeves taunted laughing. Myrtle broke out into tears, perhaps out of annoyance, teasing she had undergone herself, or this...Tom Riddle person she liked. Luna walked out, contemplating what Peeves had said.

"I-It can't be true." Luna ran away, down the stairs and outside. "It can't be true." Luna ran past Hagrid's hut, near that hippogriff-who she forgot the name of- all the way to the Forbidden Forest. "It can't be true, it can't be true, it can't be true!" A flock of birds flew out of the forest, cawing loudly. She wiped her eyes free of tears then sighed. "It is true. I love Ron Weasley with all my heart."


	5. Chapter 5: Girls, Girls, Girls

The Love of a Lion

Chapter 5

Girls, Girls, Girls

"I love him." As Luna uttered those fatal words, her heart leapt. '_Yes..'_ she thought. _'It's true. I love Ronald Weasley' _. It felt good admitting those words, like a burden lifting from her heart. She stood up, humming to herself. "Weasley is my king, Weasley is my king, the raven loves the li-ion! Weasley is my king!" She walked inside Hogwarts, smiling. _No need to hide it! Let the world see!_ _He'll be so happy!_

--

Draco Malfoy exited the Slytherin common room, oddly unaccompanied. Life was good. He was almost done with his mission, or so he thought, and he had girls at his disposal. Pansy and that Ravenclaw sap Elizabeth What's-Her-Face. '_She's replaceable_' Draco thought ascending a flight of stairs. '_Best of all, they don't know the other exists!' _He entered the first floor with a smug look on his face. "Potter's never had this luck with the ladies." Stopping at a mirror, Draco paused to admire his reflection. "You're the sexiest guy in the school."

"With an ego the size of a hippogriff!" Draco spun around. Ginny Weasley was staring him in the face. "Only Lockhart has a bigger ego than you."

"Jealous, aren't you Weasel-bee? I heard your last relationship with Thomas tanked." Draco smiled his smug smile. "Maybe you just want some of me for yourself." Damn. That didn't come out right.

"Hell would freeze over before I'd date Draco Malfoy, no matter what those...people say!" She spat at Draco's feet and stormed off in a hurry.

"Didn't have to be such a drama queen..." Draco muttered sending Ginny a scathing look. Ah yes. Those 'people' Ginny mentioned. That small group of Hogwarts girls who spend every moment of their life playing matchmaker. Some matches like Potter and Mudblood Granger seemed like a match made in heaven, while others like himself and the Mudblood seemed like a match made in hell. "I didn't know that they were trying to pair me up with her." Draco shuddered in revulsion as he climbed another set of stairs.

"What's this?" A crowd of people had gathered around...something. Draco couldn't see what. Fighting past the people, he gazed at the two who were fighting. It was Elizabeth and Pansy.

"Oh shit." Draco said, mouth agape. How was he going to get himself out of this one? Maybe if he was lucky, they'd kill each other.

"So." Elizabeth said, pursing her lips. "I see you've been hanging out with my Drakkie-poo. You two have been hanging out a little too much. It's like you're dating." The crowd oohed, in a 'Pansy's gonna get it' sort of way.

"YOUR Drakkie-poo?" Pansy said, emphasizing disgust on the last word. "On the contrary, he's my Draco-waco. And I must add YOU'VE been hanging around with him too much."

"My lord...I shouldn't have let them call me those nicknames." Draco sighed.

"I've been hanging with him because he's my boyfriend." Elizabeth said, throwing her head back in a triumphant way, like she just won a wrestling match.

"You must be delusional, cause he's MY BOYFRIEND!" Pansy shot Elizabeth a scathing look. The crowd was going wild now. Someone in the crowd yelled "Draco, you player!"

"Damn, damn, damn!" Draco muttered to himself, yanking his hat down over his ears, which were steadily turning red. '_What have I gotten myself into? Oh dear god, this is a mess...' _he thought, turning redder until he was the color of a tomato.

"What's your damage?" Elizabeth said, sending Pansy a confused look. "This is HOGWARTS, not the Long Term Effects Ward at Saint Mungo's."

"Sadly there's no Department for the Deranged at Saint Mungo's." Pansy said, tut-tutting. "You'd feel right at home there."

"At least I'm not in that zoo house Slytherin." '_Hey now...' _Draco thought.

"Thank god I'm not in that dung heap Ravenclaw."

"Who's winning in Quidditch?" Elizabeth said, smiling venomously at Pansy.

"How sad, that the only decent insult you can come up with is insulting our Quidditch skills."

"It just shows that our players are better than those monkeys you call a Quidditch team." _'Does she know I play Seeker?" _Draco thought, raising an eyebrow at Elizabeth. _'Apparently not.'_

"Why you...you..." Pansy was at a lost for words. The crowd was going wild.

"See, my brain isn't small and flat like you and the rest of your body." Elizabeth said, laughing triumphantly.

"Why you little bitc-"

"Settle down, settle down." The cold drawling voice of Severus Snape entered the room, as well as Snape himself. "Miss Britten, a detention for Ravenclaw for fighting in the hall."

"What?" Elizabeth was furious. She let off a string of swear words.

"And ten points from Ravenclaw for use of improper language. I suggest you get to class."

--

As Ron left Transfiguration, his mind was churning. _'Luna sure was acting weird...she's all happy. Singing in the halls, practically dancing around the place..._Yo Cade!"

Cade Narcissus turned around, smiling. "Oh, hi there Ron! What's up with you?"

"It's Luna...she's been acting weird. Have you noticed why she's...like this?" The words seemed stuck to his tongue, he had trouble unsticking them. When they were unstuck, they flowed like molasses though.

"Yeah...I have no clue. It started about two weeks ago, I don't know why though." Pointing off to the distance, she smiled. "There she is, go ask her." Nodding Ron ran off. As she danced away, he ran closer and closer. When he was within a foot of her, he heard her singing.

"Weasley is my king, Weasley is my king, the raven loves the li-ion! Weasley is my king!"

"No way." Ron said quietly, as Luna walked, well sort of skipped off. "Luna's just a friend." He slumped down, clutching his books close to his chest. "She's just a friend...but why do I freak out whenever I'm near her?" A moment of silence followed. "Christmas is less than a month away...I'll ask Bill...or somebody."

--

Lavender Brown was also in utter elation. She walked through the halls, giving off the air of one who seemed like she didn't have a care in the world. In fact, she didn't. Won-won was going with her to the next Hogsmede weekend! _'Life couldn't get any better!' _she thought, twirling around. '_I'm going on a date with Ron and-hey, there he is!' _She grinned. "Won-won! It's me!"

"Oh...hey." Ron seemed to be brooding about something. _'He seems sad...' _Lavender thought, biting her lip.

"So, ready for our date Won-won?" Lavender said, giggling again.

"Uh...Lavender, I want to call the date off." Lavender was struck dumb. _'What? Wh-why did Won-won say that? I thought I was his girlfriend...'_

"Why?" she said, voice trembling.

"I need to...sort my feelings out." Ron grinned sheepishly, stood up, then walked away.

"Wh-wh-what did I d-do wrong?" Lavender said, choking back tears. '_What's wrong with him? Could he be seeing another girl? Am I not good enough?' _She stood up, meaning to follow Ron, but then stopped. '_That Ravenclaw...Luna or something. She seemed awfully sad when we were first dating, or so says Padma, and now she's all...happy.' _Lavender's eyes narrowed. "That's it. I will make Luna Lovegood's life miserable! Nobody steals Won-won and gets away with it!"


	6. Chapter 6: Christmastime

The Love of a Lion

Chapter 6

Christmastime is Here

Draft 2

"What a very happy Christmas." Ron muttered, in disgust as he sat in his room. "There's just too many godforsaken people here!" He flopped back on his bed. "What to do about her..." Ron thought sighing.

"Yo!" George Weasley said, knocking on the door. "You called for me, so white want?"

Ron grinned. Why did he think this was a good idea? "I need...girl advice." Ron gulped then made a string of funny noises. "She makes me so nervous."

"Girl advice?" George made a noise sort of like stifling laughter. Oddly, one third of it was high pitched.

"Yeah...it's...it's..." he muttered something incomprehensible.

"Hang on, we can't talk about this in the hall." George fiddled with the doorknob. "Dammit...stuck. Expelliarmus!" The door blew off its hinges. The redheaded face of George grinned as he stepped inside, followed by Bill Weasley and his fiancee Fleur Delacour.

"What?" Ron shouted. "Not you too!"

"White mean?" Bill said, furrowing his brow. Ron just sighed. _'NOT Fleur! Anybody but Fleur!' _

"Never mind." Ron said, rubbing his forehead. "Anyhoo, I have girl trouble."

"What eez eet?" Fleur said, tilting her head a bit.

"Well, I think that a girl at Hogwarts has a crush on me..." The inquisitive eyes of Fleur, Bill, and George drilled into Ron's head. "Luna..." he muttered.

"What the hell!" George yelled, bursting out into laughter. It was an awkward scene. George was rolling on the floor laughing, Ron was fuming, almost foaming at the mouth, and Bill and Fleur just looked around the room clueless.

"Who's Luna?" Bill said, face blank.

"She's a nutter." George said wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "Completely-"

"She's not a nutter! She's...she's..." Ron started to cry. '_Why am I doing this?' _he thought. _'Why am I crying? What's wrong with me?'_

"Hey." Bill put a hand on Ron's shoulder, smiling. "When did it start?"

"It was last December...or November...I can't remember..."

--

It was winter. Christmas break was less than a month away. Ronald Weasley was walking out of Transfiguration, fuming at Hermione. '_Women!'_ he thought scornfully. '_They're so confusing!' _He walked up a flight of stairs, rubbing his head. '_My god! Why'd she have to laugh at me?'_ He aimlessly wandered into the boy's bathroom. As he walked into a stall, shut the door, and started to unzip his fly, he sighed. "Stupid women." he muttered.

"I wouldn't be saying that if I were you." Ron spun around. Moaning Myrtle was sitting on the back of his toilet, looking at Ron. Her expression was mad, her lips were pursed, eyes were raging.

"D-Did you...you s-s-see-" Ron began, zipping up his fly at lightning fast speed.

"I had my eyes shut."

"This is a boy's bathroom Myrtle! Why are you here?"

"I got lost in the pipes. Some girl flushed me, and I ended up here. I wonder what she was thinking...it's not nice being flushed."

"Myrtle..." Ron said in what he hoped was a reassuring tone.

"You don't visit me anymore." Myrtle sniffed, eyes watering. "A few years ago, you used to visit me everyday."

"Erm, do you know who Hermione's taking to Slughorn's party?" Ron said, trying to change the subject.

"McLaggen." Myrtle said, giggling. She obviously loved gossip like this. "The best part it, Harry Potter's going out with Luna Lovegood!

--

"I just felt so...so..." Ron broke off.

"I know." Bill said smiling. "I know. I've had that feeling before."

"With who?" George said grinning.

"Fleur." Bill said simply. "You were my first love, don't you know?"

"Oh! I deed not know zat!" Fleur blushed. "Well you made a good choice!"

"I know I did." Bill said, grinning.

"But steell...Ronald een love. Oh, I feel so 'appy!" Fleur leant over and gave Ron a kiss on the cheek. Instantly, Ron turned beet red. _'Maybe she's not so bad...'_ he thought. "Won't Molly be proud! Oh, I can't wait to tell 'er!" Fleur skipped out happily.

"Damn Phlegm, come back!" Ron yelled, chasing after her.

--

Lavender Brown brushed out her long blonde hair. She wore a pink nightgown with frills around the collar. She sat in her, very girly, room plotting ways to get rid of Luna.

"The pink hurts my eyes." Her little sister, Minky walked into the room. Minky was just a nickname, derived from her real name, Madeline, and her kinky black hair, now pulled back into a loose low ponytail. Minky was two years younger than Lavender, but looked ten. "Why'd you make the curtains so bright?"

"Happy Christmas to you too." Lavender said, snidely. "Besides, your room in all it's blood red-ness makes me feel cramped." She narrowed her eyes. '_God, my sister is such a freak! So dark and...black.' _She put down the brush. "Did you get what you wanted?"

"The System of a Down cd, a big bag of Chocolate Frogs, a copy of Care for your Magical Mutant Muggle Pet-" Minky had stopped counting on her fingers.

"Hang on. Have you been blaring Blisters All Around-

"System of a Down." Minky corrected. "It's an American band."

"Whatever. Do they sing that song that you've been blaring all morning? Something about Moses, parties and things flying from the tablecloth?" Lavender said, hopping on her bed. '_If so, I hate it.'_ she thought. _'So loud and noisy.'_

"It's LIES from the table cloth, and yes they sing 'B.Y.O.B.' the song I've been blaring all morning."

"What's that mean?"

"Dunno." Minky hopped on a pink stool. "Bury Your Own Bunnies or something like that...did your beloved 'Won-Won' send you that?"Minky asked, pointing at the bag of Every Flavor Beans Lavender was eating.

"No, he sent me something more classy." Lavender said looking evilly at Minky.

"What is it?"

"Socks." Minky burst out laughing, and promptly fell off the stool. "Madeline..." Lavender said threateningly. '_Ooh, I'm gonna kill her! They're nice socks! Dark blue with little yellow stars! They're also toe socks!' _Minky was still laughing. "Expelliarmus." As Minky was climbing back on the stool, she got blasted off by Lavender's spell.

"Dammit..." Minky muttered, standing up. "Anyhoo, how's your love life going?"

"I'm starting to think he's interested in another girl." Lavender said, spitting out a bean. It flew across the room. "Dirt." she muttered.

"Well just blackmail him!" Minky said, smiling. "Tell him that you know who the other girl is, or something like that. It'll be just like a crime show!"

"Maybe..." Lavender muttered.

"Or you can just confront him." Minky said, smiling. "Just say, 'you've been hanging out with Luna too much'."

"Yeah...how'd you know it was Luna?" Lavender said, shifting around a bit.

"They HAVE been together." Minky said point-blank. "A Hufflepuff can keep up with other houses's news."

"Yeah..." Popping another bean into her mouth, Lavender spit it out. It flew across the room, ricocheted off the closet mirror, bounced off the ceiling fan, and landed on the floor about halfway across the room near an oversized teddy bear bearing the headline 'HAPPY CHRISTMAS.'

"Damn..." Minky muttered, looking at the abandoned jelly bean.

"What? I hate sprouts!"


End file.
